posted 09-20-2006 03:54 PM
There is another thread going on about the greatest number of people in Space at any one time. It leads me to ask the following questions. Maybe one of the ISS experts can help out.

How many space ships can dock at the ISS at any one time?

Is the capacity for concurrent docking going to change as the ISS adds more modules?

posted 09-20-2006 06:25 PM
At the moment, there are four [accessible and used] docking ports: Shuttle port at the end of Destiny/PMA adapter. And Soyuz/Progress ports at the aft end of Zvezda, on Pirs, and on the nadir side of Zarya.

[Edited by Ben (September 20, 2006).]

DannoNew Member

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posted 09-21-2006 10:09 AM
Don't forget the CBMs. A vehicle like the Dragon is supposed to be captured by the SSRMS and berthed to a CBM.

posted 09-21-2006 03:47 PM
I got the impression that they didn't want to create so much activity at once, with both the Shuttle and Soyuz crews, for the ISS expedition crew. But I think you are correct in saying that they could all be docked at the same time if necessary.

Robert PearlmanEditor

Posts: 27328From: Houston, TXRegistered: Nov 1999

posted 09-21-2006 03:47 PM
The limiting factor is not so much the number of ports, but the Russian autonomous docking system. Apparently, certain shuttle systems can interfere with KURS, and as such NASA imposed its own limit on the STS-115 launch window to avoid conflicts with the arriving Soyuz and departing Progress.

All four — two Soyuz, one Progress and Atlantis — could have been docked at the same time but were any of the Russian vehicles needed in motion, the shuttle would have to be backed away from the ISS first.